The Tigers went into halftime in a scoreless tie with Portland State, which was not what Pacific coach Keith Coleman wanted after his team went scoreless in a season-opening loss to Saint Mary's last week.

"We frustrated ourselves by playing balls in that their goalkeeper just picked up," Coleman said. "We just had to get a goal. We figured if we got that first one, everything would start flowing."

It flowed perfectly for most of the second half with sophomore midfielder Angelica Figueroa providing the spark. Figueroa scored two goals and assisted on another as the Tigers scored four of their goals in 10-minute stretch in a 5-0 victory before 535 fans at Stagg Memorial Stadium.

"Their work rate was a lot better than ours in the second half," Portland State coach Laura Schott. "We came out slow, and they took advantage of it with their speed up top. They came out on fire."

Figueroa scored the first goal in the 59th minute, then assisted Alex Topp less than six minutes later. Kristina Wavomba scored a few minutes later before Figueroa added her second goal less than two minutes later. Pacific's final goal was an own goal off a throw-in in the 84th minute. Pacific had 14 shots on goal.

Pacific controlled the ball for much of the first half and had a few shots on goal, but could not get one past Portland State goalkeeper Cris Lewis. Figueroa said the second-half performance provided the team with the confidence they needed.

"This is what we will be expecting in every game," Figueroa said. "We feel like we can (accomplish) anything."

Coleman was also pleased with his team's defense, particularly the play of Kylee Ah Choy and Lauren Olvera. Goalkeeper Jill Medigovich made two saves, but Coleman said it was difficult to evaluate her because the Vikings mustered just those two shots on goal.

Coleman said the 1-0 loss to Saint Mary's might have been exactly what his team needed because he saw a more inspired effort against Portland State. The Tigers will need to regroup quickly after the victory as they will play host to Albany at noon Sunday.